Ski



May 4, 19 43. E. o. ERICSON 2,318,147

SKI

Filed March 15, 1941 6 2 Sheets-Sheet INYENTOR.

Patented May 4, 1943 SKI Eric 0. Ericson, Duluth, Minn. ApplicationMarch 15, 1941, Serial No.383,582

6 Claims.

This invention relates to a single snow ski, provided with detachableaccessories for mechanically joining two skis, for use in traveling overor across snow-covered terrain in the course of business, recreational,military or other pursuits, a mode of travel that is frequently the onlypractical way left open during winter months. Unlike the use ofconventional snow skis wherein a pair of skis are necessary, except ashereafter set forth, only one push ski is employed by each rider forordinary purposes, although for extraordinary purposes the use of twoskis joined together in parallel alignment by a suitable coupling deviceis provided for.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a more practical,substantial, and adaptable ski for the purpose than heretofore used.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear in thefollowing description thereof.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings, forming part of thisapplication, and wherein like reference characters indicate like parts:

Figure l is a side elevation of my improved ski illustrating a piece ofordnance mounted thereon.

Figure 2 is a top plan View of Figure l, with the ordnance removed.

Figure 3 is a central longitudinal section of the ordnance supportingmast.

Figure 4 is a central longitudinal sectional view of the pivotalmounting for the ordnance.

Figure 5 is a plan view of a dual ski assembly.

Figure 6 is an enlarged elevation of one form of union for suchassembly.

Figure 7 is an enlarged plan View of one of the assembly connections.

The push ski, which is fashioned from clear grained wood stock ofdimensions determined largely by the specific use for which it isintended to be employed, is designed in such proportion of al view Widthand length as to confer upon its under side or snow surface aweight-bearing area sufficient in size to carry over or support upon thesurface of even very soft snow not only the weight of the push ski andits rider but, in addition, a

sizable burden of weight such as supplies, equipment, ordnance, etc. Aswill be seen in Figure 1, in its general appearance, this push skiresembles a conventional ski in many respects, particularly in that itssnow riding or gliding properties are derived from its general designwhich incorporates a long, narrow, smoothly finished wooden plane orsurface which, at its forward or toe end 'I is symmetrically Wedge orV-shaped, when viewed from above, tapering in two gentle curves fromeach of its lateral edges forward and medially toward the center in themanner of the prow of a boat, as shown in Figure'2','and which, whenviewed from its side, also at its forward or toe end, curves rathersteeply upwards in a forwardly direction and away from the ground, thusproviding an elevator or lifting surface during forward motion, as maybe seen in Figure 1. It-

will be noted in Figures 1 and 2 that the beginnings and endings of thelatero-medial curvatures, producing the wedge shape, and the forward andupward curvature, producing the elevator, are substantially,co-terminous.

On the longitudinal center of the ski and slightly to the rear of thehalf way mark of its longer dimension is a miniature steering mast 2,having a transverse handle bar 3 affixed to its top, and which mastarises perpendicularly (normally at least) from the upper .or standingsurface of the ski to slightly more than the height of a man's waist.This mast, together with its handle bar, provides a suitable grasp orhandle upon which the rider may push or pull, and with which he maysteady or'secure himself While riding, as well as a means ofdirectmanipulation of the push ski itself during travel or motion. Italso aifords two points of attachment for the coupling device,hereinafter described, which is employed when it is desired to jointogether two push skis as a dual ski combination.

Situated in front of the steering mast and also located in the mid-lineof the ski, a metal socket .4 is attached to the upper surface of theski.

This socket serves two purposes, as a point of insertion for adetachable carrier rod 5, and as a point of insertion for the skicoupling device when cross coupling of two such skis is desired.

To propel a single push ski the rider stands with one foot placed on thestanding or upper surface of the ski, directly behind the steering mast.This foot and leg then support the body weight of the rider, and withhis two hands graspingthe handle bar. Th free foot is then employed asan animated push pole to drive the ski forward and to assist in steeringits course and in stopping it. To facilitate traction of the free footin or upon the snow, a short snow shoe or ice creeper maybe worn on theshoe .of the pushing foot; choice of such accessorie being determined bydepth and character of the snow to be traversed. While riding down'declines, the

rider may, of course, stand with both the standin surface'of the ski.

feet upon y insertion of the detachable carrier rod 5 into its socket 4,.a

means of attachment for gun mount, such as of attachment of the steeringmast.

. f the entire Width of the ski.

,vary in depth depending upon at the deepest portion ward action ormotion of the 'crum upon which to raise or elevate the forward half ofthe ski, as well as an 2. indicated at 6, protective shield I, andluggage carrier is thus provided.

As is obvious from the several views the ski has a pencil-shaped outlinewhich is approximately ten feet in its over-all length from tip of toeto heel, and its width is uniform at all points eXcept for the wedgingat the toe. One or more rounded grooves 8 are cut in the under surfaceof the ski its full length except at the toe to minimize side slipping,as is common.

A novel feature of the present invention is that exclusive of its toecurvature and the longitudinal groove or grooves, the under surface ofthe ski presents two smooth, wooden planes or surfaces which, spaced andnonparallel, and which are joined by the notch or step 9, as indicatedin Figure 1.

These two planes are in tandem relationship to each other along theircommon center line, and each occupies roughly one-half the under surfaceof the ski to the fore and to the rear of the point The forward planebegins about fifteen inches behind the tip of the toe and extendsbackwards for a distance of about five feet where it terminates abruptlyby the notch, or step 9, cut crosswise This step 9 may the use to whichThe rear plane begins of the notch or step and extends backwardly to therear end of the ski. This step produced by the separation of the twoplane surfaces is unique, and coupled with the reduction of thickness ofthe ski itself, combine to give the ski two of its more valuablefeatures for more ready turning ability and maneuverability, namely, anotching or pivot edge or step on its under or sliding surface which atone and the same time serves as a brake to retard backski, and as afulthe ski is to be put.

area of increased flexibility in the ski itself, just forward of thefulcrum, which permits of easy and quick elevation' of the toe andentire forward portion of the ski, independently of the rearward portionthereof, without the use of any hinging device, through the simple actof producing backward traction on 'the handle bar 3 while the riderstands with his weight resting on the standing surface behind thesteering mast 2.

Viewed from'above and in profile, as in Figures 1 and 2, the push skipresents certain features in common with the conventional sk'l'. Bothlateral edges are beveled off over almost their.

entire length. Certain areas of the surface have been symmetricallygouged out bilaterally from the center to effect reduction in weight andafford greater flexibility against stresses and strains leaving otherportions thicker as reinforcements against overloads of stress orstrain. Two wooden reinforcing plates I0 and II have been added to theupper or standing surface of the ski. Each is approximately threefourths of an inch in thickness and in width slightly narrower than thatof the ski runner itself. The forward reinforcing plate [0, which servesto give added strength to the area of attachment of the carrier rodsocket 4 is attached with its long edges paralleling the side edges ofthe ski runner at a site beginning approximately three and one-half feetto the rear of the foremost point of the toe of the ski and extendingbackwards from a transverse line at such point. Attachment to the skirunner is accomplished by if projected, would be slightly H-shapedstructure.

the use of wood screws driven from above downwards through thereinforcing plate into the body of the ski runner and if desired gluemay be applied to the meeting surfaces to further enhance the securityof the attachment. The reinforcing plate ll under the steering mast isapplied to the ski runner in a similar manner. The upper surface of theski between the two reinforcing plates is cut out as shown at 30 inFigure 1 across its entire width and to such depth as will reduce thethickness of the ski at this point to approximately one-half inch, forpurposes hereinbefore explained.

The steering mast socket l2, and the carrier socket 4, both of which aremade of metal, are secured to their respective reinforcing plates bybolts l3 which pass upwardly from below, through the reinforcing plateand into the base of the socket. The carrier rod socket 4 is essentiallya square metal tube, flanged at its top and bottom, and to the rear facethereof near its base is formed a metal eye or hinge l4 which supportsthe lower end of the metal steering mast brace l5, the upper end ofwhich is attached to a metal collar 16 extending about the steering mastand provided with an eye or hinge for such attachment, thus providingsupport and rigidity to the steering mast.

Located on the forward walls of the carrier rod socket 4 and of thesteering mast socket 12 are look bolts and plugs l1 and which consist ofa springlike strip of metal affixed to the walls of the sockets, each ofwhich strips of metal having affixed to its lower end a short metaldowel that passes through a round opening in the socket wall and into ahole made for its reception in the carrier rod and steering mast, andthereby to hold each in its respective stocket, but providing means forconvenient removal thereof, when desired.

The steering mast socket I2 is also a rectangular metal tube, flanged atits top and bottom, being square at its bottom and oblong at its top,its major axis being longitudinally of the ski. Three sides of thesocket l2, namely the front'wall and the two sidewalls areperpendicular, but the rear wall is formed at an angle of less thandegrees so that the inverted truncated wedge thus formed permits themastto describe a rearward are within its socket during backwardtraction upon the handle bars as illustrated in Figure 1 at 17. Thesteering mast 2 is, of course, squared at its lower end to fit withinthe bottom of the socket i2 and is provided with an opening to receivethe male member of the lock plug when desired.

The sockets 4 and i2 may be provided with laterally extending couplingsockets [8 upon each of their side walls and which are cast or stampedout as an integral part thereof. These are for the reception of the twolower arms IQ of -a coupling structure which may be employed to join twoof the skis herein described together in a dual ski combination. Eachcoupling structure consists of two U-shaped pieces of squared wood whichare joined back to back by bolts and nuts as clearly shown in Figure 6to form an After the two lower arms i9 of the coupling have been slippedinto their respective coupling sockets on each of two skis, the twoupper arms 19 are secured by passing over the tops of each the free endsof the split brace socket 2B which surrounds each mast and is freelymovable or adjustable as to height. These braces can quickly be setinposition and the coupling is then in place. By the use of two suchcouplings which span the gap between mast and mast and between carrierrod and carrier rod of any two such skis, they may be securely andquickly joined together to form a dual ski combination. The operation ofsuch combination requires two riders, both of Whom perform in unison orcombination the same acts required of a single rider with a single skito attain motion thereof. This dual ski combination combines most of theadvantages without the disadvantages of a toboggan and skis; that is tosay, it may serve as a means of transporting as large or larger loadsthan can be hauled by a toboggan while retaining much of the ease ofpropelling associated with skis. The upper ribs of the cou-. plings forma natural cradle for the carrying of innumerable kinds of luggage, oreven a stretcher, While by adjustments of the angles of suspension ofthe wings of the shield, hereinafter described, many combinations arepossible ranging from a simple windbreak to that of a small buteffective barricade against armed men. The lower ribs of the couplings,arching upwards as they do, give adequate snow clearance for the burdenbeing transported.

It is to be noted that the holding sockets 26 are elongated, providingmeans to permit of free lateral movement of either of the skisindependently of the other without undue stress as may be required intraversing a side hill or rough ground.

The carrier rod 5 not only supports the ordnance such as indicated at B,but also provides adequate support for the adjustable shield mem bers 1which are shown as being attached at 2| to the forwardly extendingtermini of the brackets 22. These latter, of course, may be of anydesired construction but made as light as possible and rigidly attachedto the rod 5. These shield members 1 are made selectively adjustableupon their hinge support by means of any suitable form of lazy tongconnections such as at 23, having one or more of their pivotal pointsprovided with suitable thumb nuts 24 for holding them in any desiredposition, and which may be with one closed and the other open, forexample as illustrated in Figure 2 of the drawings to suitcircumstances. When the connection for dual use of the device isassembled as previously described and shown in Figures 5, 6, and 7, theforward meeting ends of the shield members may be united by one or moreremovable hinge members as indicated at 25.

One form of pivotal support for the ordnance or gun 6 is illustrated inFigure 4 and designed to utilize two adjustable ball and socket jointsheld together as by the clamping member 26 and 21, so that the gun maybe readily tipped to any desired angle, or completely folded down behindand substantially parallel with the rod 5, such adjustment beingillustrated in dotted lines in Figure 4 of the drawings, and of course,at which time the bracing member 28 would have to be correspondinglyadjusted upon the rod 5.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent, is:

1. A ski of the type described having formed in its bottom surface atransverse notch approximately mid-way between the ends of the ski, saidbottom surface on opposite sides of said notch being in diiferent planeswhen extended, a steering mast extending upwardly from the upper surfaceof the ski approximately above said notch, the upper surface of the ski,immediately forwardly of said steering mast, being cut-away to providean area of increased flexibility of the ski and whereby a tippingbackwardly of said steering mast will elevate the forward half of theski.

2. A ski of the type described having a steering mast and a carrier rodextending from the upper surface thereof in longitudinally spacedrelation, the upper surface of said ski between said mast and rod beingcut-away to provide increased flexibility of the ski.

3. A ski of the type described having a gun supporting mast thereon anda steering mast spaced rearwardly of said gun mast, characterized by thebottom surface of said ski being stepped just rearwardly of saidsteering mast to form a normally horizontally extending fiat surfaceforwardly of said step and a downwardly inclined surface rearwardly ofsaid step.

4. The structure set forth in claim- 3, said ski being furthercharacterized by having the upper surface thereof, intermediate of saidmasts, cutaway to increase the yieldability thereof for assistance insteering same.

5. A ski of the type described having its bottom surface formed in apair of spaced nonparallel planes joined by a step or notchapproximately mid-way between the ends of the ski, and its upper surfacecut-away just forwardly of said notch, and a steering mast extendingupwardly from the upper surface of the ski rearwardly of said cut-awayportion.

6. The combination with a pair of skis, each having a gun supportingmast thereupon and an adjustable shield forwardly of and common to bothof said masts, of means for cooperative union of said skis rearwardly ofsaid shield, and means carried by each of said masts for independentadjustable support of their respective halves of said shield when saidskis are not cooperatively united.

ERIC 0. ERICSON.

